Matthew Raper
Relief
1720 (made)
1720 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
Object Type
This small-scale ivory relief is a portrait of the precocious 15- year-old scholar Matthew Raper (1704-1778) standing in a library, demonstrating a proposition in geometry. Such a relief would have been for intimate display, probably in a glass case, in the family home. The artist, David Le Marchand (1674-1726), seems to have carried out a number of commissions for the Raper family, including an ivory bust portrait of Sir Isaac Newton, now in the British Museum.
People
Matthew Raper was a scholar and mathematician, and went on to become a Fellow of the Royal Society. He was the author of An Inquiry into the Value of Greek and Roman Money published in 1771. He lived at Thorley Hall, Hertfordshire, where he had an observatory. His father, also called Matthew, was a silk merchant from Buckinghamshire, and eventually became a Director of the Bank of England.
Materials & Making
Ivory, a much prized and exotic material normally imported from Africa, became fashionable for sculpture in Britain during the18th century, having been comparatively neglected since medieval times. It was particularly used for portraits, although the full-length portrait seen here was unusual. Most ivory portraits are busts, or more commonly reliefs, like this one. As well as likenesses of contemporaries, historical figures were often portrayed in this material, and series of such ivory portraits seem sometimes to have been made for collectors.
David Le Marchand (1674-1726) was famed for his ivory carvings, particularly his portraits. He was a native of Dieppe, France, and came from a Huguenot, or Protestant, family. With the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes in 1685, and the consequent persecution of non-Catholics, he had to flee France. He was next recorded in Edinburgh in 1696, where he is documented as receiving official permission to open a shop and take on apprentices. He was in London by 1700, when he started to achieve a reputation for his portraits. Despite his wide circle of important patrons and his evident success, Le Marchand apparently died in poverty, though the exact reasons for this are unknown.
He is recognised as the most distinguished ivory carver to have worked in England in the early 18th century, a period when the art enjoyed a popularity unknown since the Middle Ages.
This small-scale ivory relief is a portrait of the precocious 15- year-old scholar Matthew Raper (1704-1778) standing in a library, demonstrating a proposition in geometry. Such a relief would have been for intimate display, probably in a glass case, in the family home. The artist, David Le Marchand (1674-1726), seems to have carried out a number of commissions for the Raper family, including an ivory bust portrait of Sir Isaac Newton, now in the British Museum.
People
Matthew Raper was a scholar and mathematician, and went on to become a Fellow of the Royal Society. He was the author of An Inquiry into the Value of Greek and Roman Money published in 1771. He lived at Thorley Hall, Hertfordshire, where he had an observatory. His father, also called Matthew, was a silk merchant from Buckinghamshire, and eventually became a Director of the Bank of England.
Materials & Making
Ivory, a much prized and exotic material normally imported from Africa, became fashionable for sculpture in Britain during the18th century, having been comparatively neglected since medieval times. It was particularly used for portraits, although the full-length portrait seen here was unusual. Most ivory portraits are busts, or more commonly reliefs, like this one. As well as likenesses of contemporaries, historical figures were often portrayed in this material, and series of such ivory portraits seem sometimes to have been made for collectors.
David Le Marchand (1674-1726) was famed for his ivory carvings, particularly his portraits. He was a native of Dieppe, France, and came from a Huguenot, or Protestant, family. With the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes in 1685, and the consequent persecution of non-Catholics, he had to flee France. He was next recorded in Edinburgh in 1696, where he is documented as receiving official permission to open a shop and take on apprentices. He was in London by 1700, when he started to achieve a reputation for his portraits. Despite his wide circle of important patrons and his evident success, Le Marchand apparently died in poverty, though the exact reasons for this are unknown.
He is recognised as the most distinguished ivory carver to have worked in England in the early 18th century, a period when the art enjoyed a popularity unknown since the Middle Ages.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Title | Matthew Raper (generic title) |
| Materials and techniques | Carved ivory |
| Brief description | Relief, ivory, of Matthew Raper III, by David Le Marchand, Britain, signed and dated 1720 |
| Physical description | Wearing a wig, an unbuttoned jacket, showing a frilled shirt, and a cloak, the subject stands with his right foot advanced. In his right hand he holds a quill; he lays his left, with forefinger extended, on a three-legged table, on which are geometrical instruments. The background is a bookcase and a draped curtain. The subject is shown in full-length at the age of 15, standing in a library, and demonstrating a proposition in geometry. He is wearing a wig, an unbottoned jacket showing a frilled shirt, and a cloak, and stands with the right foot advanced. In his right hand he holds a quill; he lays his left, with forefinger extended, on a three-legged table, on which are geometrical instruments. In the background on the left stands a bookcase, while on the right a draped curtain is visible. Inscribed. |
| Dimensions |
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| Marks and inscriptions | 'Eff. Mathei RAPER juni / AEtat. suae 15. An. / ad Viu. scul. D.L.M. 1720' (Inscribed on the reverse) |
| Gallery label | British Galleries:
Matthew Raper III (1704-1778) is shown as a scholarly youth in a library, pointing to a geometrical diagram. He was later elected a Fellow of the Royal Society. The pose and setting are adapted from French painted portraits. This relief was probably commissioned by the 15-year-old boy's father.(27/03/2003) |
| Object history | Bought for £200 from C.L. Grandwater, London, in 1959. |
| Subjects depicted | |
| Summary | Object Type This small-scale ivory relief is a portrait of the precocious 15- year-old scholar Matthew Raper (1704-1778) standing in a library, demonstrating a proposition in geometry. Such a relief would have been for intimate display, probably in a glass case, in the family home. The artist, David Le Marchand (1674-1726), seems to have carried out a number of commissions for the Raper family, including an ivory bust portrait of Sir Isaac Newton, now in the British Museum. People Matthew Raper was a scholar and mathematician, and went on to become a Fellow of the Royal Society. He was the author of An Inquiry into the Value of Greek and Roman Money published in 1771. He lived at Thorley Hall, Hertfordshire, where he had an observatory. His father, also called Matthew, was a silk merchant from Buckinghamshire, and eventually became a Director of the Bank of England. Materials & Making Ivory, a much prized and exotic material normally imported from Africa, became fashionable for sculpture in Britain during the18th century, having been comparatively neglected since medieval times. It was particularly used for portraits, although the full-length portrait seen here was unusual. Most ivory portraits are busts, or more commonly reliefs, like this one. As well as likenesses of contemporaries, historical figures were often portrayed in this material, and series of such ivory portraits seem sometimes to have been made for collectors. David Le Marchand (1674-1726) was famed for his ivory carvings, particularly his portraits. He was a native of Dieppe, France, and came from a Huguenot, or Protestant, family. With the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes in 1685, and the consequent persecution of non-Catholics, he had to flee France. He was next recorded in Edinburgh in 1696, where he is documented as receiving official permission to open a shop and take on apprentices. He was in London by 1700, when he started to achieve a reputation for his portraits. Despite his wide circle of important patrons and his evident success, Le Marchand apparently died in poverty, though the exact reasons for this are unknown. He is recognised as the most distinguished ivory carver to have worked in England in the early 18th century, a period when the art enjoyed a popularity unknown since the Middle Ages. |
| Bibliographic references |
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| Collection | |
| Accession number | A.20-1959 |
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| Record created | November 19, 2002 |
| Record URL |
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